Chapter Eighty-Nine

“I don’t even know why I’m here,” I said, still clinging to the whinier version of myself as cover. “Will someone just tell me what’s going on?”

Adlai’s hands tensed for a second before relaxing slightly. “I do not find your little act amusing, O’Brien,” he said. “You and I both know why you are here and what you have done.”

“I haven’t done anything!”

“Very well, then,” Adlai said. “Excuse me while I retrieve the information on each and every one of your crimes. The list is quite substantial, or I would have done so before coming in to this…interview, to begin with.”

He started to stand and I held out a hand to stop him without even thinking. Sarah had been very clear; if Adlai accessed the files that she was corrupting, the entire process would be a non-starter. His attention had to be kept away from any computer that might provide him with an opportunity to ruin our plans. For the moment, the only way to keep his eyes firmly on me was to play his game.

His intonation made it clear that he didn’t consider my choice of vocabulary as valid, but I wasn’t talking for him at the moment. The one-way glass might conceal a cadre of police officers and prosecutors, waiting with baited breath for me to misspeak.

I gave Adlai a nod. “In fact, let’s assume that whatever conversation you want to have is preceded by an invisible ‘hypothetically.’ I’d hate for someone to get the wrong idea about our chat, or to start thinking that I’m confessing to crimes that I obviously don’t know anything about.”

Adlai tapped two fingers against the side of his left leg in thought. I watched him silently, hoping I’d read him correctly. I knew from miserable firsthand experience that his slavish adherence to the law made him the kind of opposition best handled from a distance of several hundred, or thousand, miles. But it wasn’t his faith in the legal system that brought him back into my life, time and time again. For some reason I couldn’t understand, Adlai treated our relationship as a personal affront to his sensibilities.

It was that personal angle that I hoped to take advantage of. A good police officer would have left the room, regardless of my protest. In fact, a good police officer probably wouldn’t have entered the interrogation room without as much evidence as he could lay his hands on, and he certainly wouldn’t have sent away any corroborating witnesses. To my reckoning, Adlai was a superlative officer of the law: fastidious and exacting in a way that had, on more than occasion, convinced me that the man would have made an excellent thief.

He was also, however, a human being. It took him less than ten seconds to decide to walk back across the room, pull his chair from under the table, and seat himself opposite me again.

Adlai steepled his fingers once more and turned his eyes to me. The look on his face hit me like a well-thrown punch. “Let us say that. What do you have say for yourself?”

“About what?”

“You have stolen,” Adlai said, “you have broken into houses across Europe, and you have been complicit in widespread panic and destruction.”

“I have not,” I protested. Then, a moment later, “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

“You think that I did not keep up with your trail of destruction?” Adlai asked. “What led to your incarceration while in Paris, then, if not a firebomb that left several neighborhoods in darkness for two days?”

“That wasn’t…okay, that wasn’t exactly me.”

“Oh, of course not,” Adlai said. A mirthless laugh escaped his lips. “It is never you. You are just unlucky enough to always been in the wrong place – the wrong city, or the wrong country perhaps – at exactly the right time. It is a coincidence that so many items of value disappear when you go on vacation, is it not?”

“Items of value? You mean paintings and jewelry…things like that?”

Adlai gave me a nod.

I snorted back in derision. “Those things don’t have any real value. Having a Renoir doesn’t help feed anybody, but it does look damn good when you’re having thirty of your closest friends over for a fancy dinner party. An original Castellani is only good for one thing: looking good around the neck of a dilettante whose father or husband or pool boy has more money than they know what to do with.”

It occurred to me that Sarah’s family owned several Castellanis and at least one Renoir; I elected to keep that information to myself.

“And you are such a good person,” Adlai asked, “that you do not care about the value of these things?”

“If I did anything you’re accusing me of, you think I did it for the money?”

“Four and a half years ago, one Vermeer from the private collection of Nathaniel Romanov.” He didn’t have the files in front of him, but he provided an answer without even pausing to check his memory. I must have been on his mind more than I’d let myself admit.

“Something like that would go for…” I pretended to think, while actually racking my brain to recall exactly how much Sarah had been able to negotiate for that particular piece. If my memory wasn’t failing me, that had been a commissioned job and we’d voluntarily taken a pay cut on the deal, in exchange for future considerations in the area. “Let’s say twenty million.”

“If you add a zero to that number,” Adlai said, “you would be closer to the truth.”

“Really? Two hundred million? Vermeer’s actually go for that much?” Apparently, I’d taken a larger pay cut than I’d realized. No wonder the client had been so effusive about referring further work our way. “Well, even if it were just the original number. You don’t think a man can live his entire life off of twenty million dollars and live comfortably? And you’re implying that I’ve been involved in other thefts like that, right?”

Adlai parted his lips, probably to rattle off a list of my other successes over the years, and I waved him into silence.

“So, any one or two of those jobs could pay for a lavish life of luxury, don’t you think? Why would I continue stealing these things, opening myself up to greater and greater risk every single time, if I’d already gotten away with a small fortune?”

“Then why? Why would you do the things you have done?”

I opened my mouth to answer, then froze as I realized I didn’t have an easy answer to that question. I had, on previous occasions, spent some much needed time in self-reflection on that very point: what drove me to steal, why I chose the targets that I did, and why I simply didn’t leave the business entirely. I’d spent a lifetime on the edge of capture, evading police forces and private investigators across the globe by nothing more than the skin of my teeth; I’d worked with some particularly distasteful individuals who performed unsavory tasks for unsavory people; and, though it was painful to admit, I’d unwillingly sacrificed my marriage to the job.

And I had not, for the life of me, been able to identify why I continued to go through it all. After the divorce, I’d only been attempting to chase down that feeling I really only felt when Sarah was pulling strings from a safe location. But before that? Even before I’d started working with Asher and well before I’d met and married Sarah…I couldn’t put my finger on a single, solid answer.

“Why?” I repeated to Adlai, giving myself more time to think and also ensuring that he wouldn’t leave the room before I answered. “Because it’s fun, I guess. No one really gets hurt. The marks have all of their property ensured, so it isn’t like they’re actually money. And they get a great story to tell when they meet up for drinks on top of the Eiffel tower, or whatever else it is that fabulously rich people do with their spare time.”

“You do not think you hurt anyone? What about the law? Does that mean nothing to you?”

“The law isn’t a person,” I said, immediately.

“It is important,” Adlai shot back. “Just because you personally enjoy flaunting the law, that does not mean you are some sort of Robin Hood figure.”

I barked out a laugh. “When did I say I was some sort of noble thief, out to help the people? Anything I stole – hypothetically – I either kept or sold. Mostly sold. I don’t really see the point of holding onto extravagant paintings, and it isn’t like I find myself entertaining a lot of people, what with the relatively short period of time I spend in a given country.”

“So you admit that you are just a thief!” Adlai cried out, triumphant.

“I did not admit any such thing,” I said. “But, if what you’re saying turned out to be true, then yes. I would be a thief. I’m not under any illusions about that. But seriously? Can you honestly tell me that I’m the worst criminal that’s had the displeasure of your attention?”

“That is not the point,” Adlai said. “A crime is a crime; it does not matter if you think that your crime is somehow less of what it is.”

I blinked and searched his expression for any hint of dissemblance. There was none to be found. “You’re serious? You actually think that art theft is bad as every other crime?”

The stony stare he directed my way served as answer enough.

“What kind of cases do they have you working, Adlai? You don’t deal with murderers, or rapists, or human trafficking? I’m serious, here. Are you, like, in the welterweight division as far as Interpol goes?”

“Welterweight?” His eyebrows drew closer together in thought for a moment. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“What I mean,” I said, “is that you’re out of your mind if you think that what I allegedly do is anywhere near as bad as a whole hell of a lot of crimes I can name off the top of my head.”

What had originally only been intended as a diversion now felt subtly different to me. I’d been on the run from Adlai for more years than I could count and, all things considered, I honestly felt that it was something purely professional on both of our parts. Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, taking shots at each other all day long, only to drop the act after the cameras switched off. Even if the small matter of my dubious relationship with the law didn’t matter, it wasn’t likely that I’d want to spend a lot of time with the man, but I could respect his work ethic and dogged tenacity.

Listening to him now – actually seeing him, face to face – gave me the impression that it wasn’t just professional for him, and it certainly wasn’t just a personal vendetta. The worst thing I’d ever done to Adlai specifically hadn’t done much worse than ruin a suit and cost him a few frequent flyer miles.

“What did I do to you?” I asked him, foregoing the fiction of my innocence. It wasn’t going to convince Adlai of anything, and Scotland Yard didn’t have enough to hold me, anyway.

“You…what? You did nothing to me. You have broken the law, and that is enough.”

“That’s enough for the way you’ve been chasing me for years? Let me ask you a question: what about the real bad guys? Do you have the same level of obsession with them?”

“I will catch any criminal,” Adlai said. He spoke robotically, as if he was repeating something he’d committed to memory a long time ago. “The law is not something to be played with.”

“And that seems right to you? You have to understand how absurd you’re being.” An idea occurred to me. It might be possible to accomplish two things at once, if I spoke carefully. At the moment, there wasn’t any way to check what information had and had not been released to the public, and I didn’t want to provide any of these delightful law enforcement officers with more solid legal footing. “You’re international, so maybe you heard about a bank robbery a few months ago?”

Adlai nodded before he could stop himself. “Was that you, as well?”

“From what I heard, people died there. You know I wouldn’t play things that way.”

He didn’t betray any emotion but, after a few seconds of thought, his head inclined slightly in acknowledgement. “What does that have to do with you, then?”

I could have named Asher. Adlai’s focus on me had been like a laser, so I wasn’t sure if he was even aware of Asher’s existence, but I could have done it. It might even have worked. There was every possibility that it might even be enough to put pressure on Hill and Asher’s plan. What stopped me wasn’t common sense, but simple ego. I wanted to catch him on my own. Handing him over to the police before I’d had a chance at a long, long conversation with Asher didn’t sit well with me.

“It doesn’t,” I said, after a moment. “I mean, not really. But there’s…someone out there who is killing people, threatening innocents, and you think that’s the same as me? Compared to that, I’m the good guy.”

Adlai slammed his fist onto the table. The action exploded out of nowhere and I jerked away from him instantly. “You are a criminal,” he said. “I am the ‘good guy.’ I am the one who is trying to preserve the law!”

“Not like this you aren’t,” I shot back. My own temper began rising up from the pit of my stomach and I made no particular effort to hold it down. “If you’re going to focus all of your resources on catching me, instead of going after the real monsters, then you’re as good as helping those assholes get away with actual murder. I can help, Adlai; I’m trying to help, but I can’t do that if I’ve got to deal with you on my tail every second of every day.”

“So, this is your angle?” Adlai asked. “Convince me of some spectral threat and make yourself out to be some sort of hero? I thought that you were not the Robin Hood type.”

“I’m not,” I said. “But I’m far from the worst person in the field right now, and you have got to know that. What brought you here, in the first place? It certainly wasn’t the break-in at the Museum of London and the whole situation at the manor house isn’t something that would involve Interpol. Your superiors sent you here to deal with something, but you got distracted by the possibility of catching me. How, exactly, is that acting in the pursuit of justice?”

An interesting thing happened to Adlai’s eyes. They narrowed first, and locked onto me with malevolent force, as if he could somehow will me out of existence. Then, they widened slightly at the corners. I recognized that micro-expression: a piece of some puzzle had fallen into place within his mind.

“What is it?” I asked. “What are you thinking?”

“No,” Adlai said. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking to himself. “No, that isn’t right. But…how else…?”

Without more information, I couldn’t help him proceed further down his train of thought, nor could I stop him. I didn’t even know which option would be better for me and my team. So, instead of interrupting, I sat quietly and watched Adlai for any sign that might help me make the best decision.

Lost in a sudden torrent of thoughts, it was like the agent had forgotten entirely about my presence. He removed a smartphone from his pocket and checked something on the screen. Then, shaking his head slowly, he closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and looked a second time.

“When,” he asked, finally, “did you arrive in London?”

Before answering, I considered the mental odds of him managing to run down the fake identities Sarah and I had used to enter the country. On a given day, at least a hundred thousand passengers went through Heathrow. I was safe to answer that question. “Maybe two weeks ago. Why?”

“That was before the museum was robbed,” Adlai mused. “But…”

“But what?” When he didn’t answer, I leaned forward and rested my weight on the table in front of me. I could sense that he was close to a revelation, even if I had no idea what that revelation might turn out to be. “Are you just going to sit there and be deliberately inscrutable?”

“I will be back,” he said. Without giving me the opportunity to say anything that might keep him inside the interrogation room and away from any computer, Adlai rushed out of the room. He left the folder, filled with documents on the table in his haste.

I bit back a sharp curse and checked my phone. I’d managed to keep Adlai in the room for maybe ten minutes. Sarah’s ability to function at the top of her game on short notice wasn’t as pronounced as my own, but she wasn’t someone to be discounted. My faith in her was validated when, only a second or two after Adlai left me to my own ruminations, the encrypted cell phone in my pocket vibrated. I fished it out and answered the incoming call.

“Good, there isn’t a delay on these things,” Sarah said, without preamble. “I wasn’t sure, and there isn’t really a way to check.”

“The camera, idiot.” In my peripheral vision, the solid red light blinked on and off several times, signaling Sarah’s control over the equipment. “There aren’t any networked microphones, and the resolution is terrible, but I’ve been watching to see if we needed to step directly in.”

“That would defeat the entire reasoning behind my current predicament, Sarah. What’s the deal with Mila?”

“She’s here,” Sarah said. “Looking a little perturbed that we came after her, but she’ll get over it.”

“What happened?”

“I…honestly don’t know,” Sarah admitted. “Neither does she. They just came in, uncuffed her, and said that she should make an effort to stay reachable for the next few days. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been arrested; is this something that happens a lot?”

“Not in my experience, no. But, I’ll be honest: the last time I dealt with the police in any meaningful fashion, they ended up throwing me in jail. I might be a little biased.”

“We can figure everything out from the safety of the Brooklands,” Sarah said. “We’ve just go to figure out a way to get you out of there.”

“You want to walk back into Scotland Yard and destroy the only reason I’m sitting in this predicament in the first place? Adlai doesn’t have anything on me, and we aren’t in America, where he could just lock me up for forty-eight hours because he’s having a bad day.” Pause. “He doesn’t have anything on me, does he?”

“Not anymore,” Sarah assured me. “Those files are corrupted beyond repair. He’ll realize something happened, but there’s not a lot he can do about that.”

“That’s what I’m saying. There’s no reason to come in, guns blazing, when I’ve only got to wait out this interview.”

Silence from Sarah’s end of the comms for several seconds, punctuated by the rapid fire clicking of her computer keys. “As it turns out, Adlai can’t put you in jail for forty-eight hours, but there’s nothing stopping him from a solid thirty-six. Maybe even longer, if he can find a magistrate who’ll listen to whatever he’s got to say.”

I blinked and resolved to learn more about the various legal statutes of any country I planned to rob. “Still, it’s only thirty-six hours. Avis is still working on decrypting the documents and we don’t even know who or where Hill actually is yet. All we can do is wait anyway.”

A noise outside of the room drew my attention to the door. Sarah, presumably watching through the low resolution camera, must have seen my head swivel around. “I think I’ve got an idea. Just in case it doesn’t work, don’t worry about the phone. If someone other than you tries to use it, it’s only going to wipe the hard drive.”

“Good to know, Sarah,” I said, just as the door opened and Adlai stepped back into the interrogation room. “Talk to you…”

The line disconnected suddenly. Sarah protecting the line, perhaps? I shrugged and, when I looked up, expected to see suspicion in Adlai’s eyes. He would almost certainly realize that I was somehow responsible for corrupting the files in his system, even if he couldn’t prove it.

What I saw instead was closer to frustration and it wasn’t directed in my direction, at all.

“What is it?”

“Your…lawyer,” Adlai said, forcing the word past his lips like they tasted foul.

I stared back at him. “My what?”

“You heard me. Your lawyer is insisting that we either release you or formally charge you. Scotland Yard does not have the manpower to pursue an investigation right now, with the disaster at the processing plant – I am confident that you know all about that – and other situations that have cropped up over London in the past few weeks.”

“So you’re letting me go?”

“I am allowing you to a brief moment to collect yourself,” Adlai said. I could see how much it killed him to play by these rules, and I understood that feeling in a vague sort of way. Someone higher up had probably forced his hand and Adlai, despite being incredibly accurate about the state of affairs in London, hadn’t been given a choice.

I tried not to gloat as I stood up. “Well, I enjoyed our talk. And I’m serious; you should really take some time to think about everything. Know what I mean?”

He glowered at me and the temperature around the man seemed to drop five or ten degrees. “And you should remember that I am not fooled by your lies. You will make a mistake, and I will be there to catch you.”

“I make mistakes on a daily basis,” I replied. “So, what you’re saying is that we’ll see each other sooner rather than later.”

“Yes.” A thin smile spread across his face. “Sooner, rather than later.”

I walked out of the room, taking great care not to bump into Adlai and technically find myself charged with assault. Back in the general office, there wasn’t any lawyer that I could see. I made my way downstairs in a hurry, wondering idly how Sarah had managed to arrange a lawyer in the few seconds she’d had available.

That answer came when I exited Scotland Yard and found myself confronted by a black stretch limousine that seemed conspicuously out of place in the early morning light of London. As large as the car was, it was dwarfed by the man standing next to the rear passenger door. The giant David looked coldly at me for several seconds before he opened the door and motioned for me to step inside. I swept my eyes across the surrounding area first and saw that Sarah’s mobile work station was gone from the area.

David gestured a second time, more forcefully. I stepped into the limo, for fear that he might simply throw me into the limousine. Seated opposite me, wearing a white wool dress decorated with twining lengths of black vines and flowers, sat the Lady. She appraised me with eyes as sharp as knives and, before the door closed and locked me into the back of the limo with her, I found myself wondering whether thirty-six hours in prison would really have been so bad.

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One thought on “Chapter Eighty-Nine”

Why did the Lady extract Devlin from police custody yet again? What additional wrinkle does she have in mind? And how will Devlin and his team deal with whatever new problems await them around the next bend?